Max Verstappen underlined the fact that Red Bull "can always count" on the four-time F1 champion to deliver after handing Laurent Mekies a winning start to his new role as Red Bull team principal.
Verstappen captured the 12th sprint win of his F1 career with victory in Belgium, keeping McLaren pairing Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris behind him at the chequered flag, with the top three separated by just 1.4 seconds.
From second on the grid, and the fact that his Red Bull had been set up for greater straight-line speed as a trade-off for downforce, Verstappen knew his prime overtaking opportunity would be on lap one along the Kemmel Straight into the Les Combes chicane.
So it proved, as he swept around the outside of polesitter Oscar Piastri in his McLaren into Les Combes, following which "15 qualifying laps" ensued, according to the Dutchman, to keep the Australian at bay.
Even though Piastri was permanently within DRS range of Verstappen once the device was available, he never had a true sniff of an overtaking opportunity.
For Red Bull, the success eased any tension that may have been prevalent following the recent sacking of Christian Horner after 20 years as team principal, since Red Bull was founded in 2005.
For Mekies, it was the perfect beginning to his tenure as the team's new boss. For Verstappen, it was business as usual.
"The team can always count on me that I'll always give my very best, whoever is in charge," said Verstappen, speaking to the media, and when asked by RacingNews365 about giving Mekies a winning start and the team something to celebrate after the recent turbulence.
"They know that I'm never holding back or anything. I'm always trying to give them the best possible result, and that's also what they pay me for.
"For sure, you know, it's a positive. We need, of course, positive energy. It's a great start for us."
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